Dear Editor:

I watched the debate on Meet the Press between Senator Tom Daschle and John Thune on Sunday, September 19.

I’m writing as your neighbor to the north, not to try to give South Dakotans advice about their upcoming election, but rather to set the record straight.

The claims Mr. Thune was making in the debate on the subject of agriculture disaster legislation passed by the Congress were just plain wrong. I know, because I was there. The fact is, it was Tom Daschle who took the lead in the Senate to make disaster aid happen for North and South Dakota farmers.

I was proud to stand and fight alongside him at a time when our family farmers needed a helping hand from Washington.

I normally wouldn’t write a letter to a neighboring state newspaper, but I just don’t want John Thune to re-write history. Tom Daschle was a leader in getting disaster aid passed. I know that. And South Dakotans need to know that too.